Changes in the Cabinet are expected to follow the strategic pace of reforms and programs under the sole and exclusive prerogative of the President.

The President chooses the members of her official family on the basis of public interest, and any replacements or shifts in her team are all aimed at strengthening the fight against poverty, the rule of law, and the competitiveness of the Philippines in the world.

But changes in the Government are not only being made at the top echelons. Day to day, we are engaged in streamlining and bolstering the overall capacity and effectiveness of the bureaucracy at all levels.

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The centerpiece of the President’s economic reform agenda is anchored on cutting down the incidence of poverty and hunger in the soonest possible time. For near term relief, we have launched the Tindahang Pinoy which offers rice and noodles, among other items, at the lowest prices possible within reach of the poor.

To pump prime the economy and bring the dividends of growth closer to the masses, we have also launched a P35 billion program in the areas of public works, housing, education, health and food.

We shall continue to endeavor to make the economic gains felt by the poor in terms of adequate food on the table, decent jobs and broader access to basic social services.

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Any change in the composition of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Cabinet is designed to further strengthen the fight against poverty, bolster the rule of law and the country’s competitiveness in the world, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said this morning.

Bunye issued the statement in the wake of reports of an impending revamp of the President’s official family.

He said changes in the President’s Cabinet are undertaken to respond to the "strategic pace of reforms and programs" of her administration.

"Changes in the Cabinet are expected to follow the strategic pace of reforms and programs under the sole and exclusive prerogative of the President," Bunye said.

He pointed out that members of the President’s Cabinet are chosen on the "basis of public interest, and any replacements or shifts in her team are all aimed at strengthening the fight against poverty, the rule of law, and the competitiveness of the Philippines in the world."

The Palace official also stressed that changes in the government are not limited to the top echelons of the bureaucracy. "Day to day, we are engaged in streamlining and bolstering the overall capacity and effectiveness of the bureaucracy at all levels," he said.

The President has vowed to bail out the country from poverty and hunger through good governance and political will.

"We are resolved to bail out the country from poverty and hunger on the back of a tough economic agenda and a penetrating social agenda – through good governance and political will," she said.

She added that the poor must enjoy the gains from her tough economic reforms, notably the Reformed Value Added Tax (RVAT) Law.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has released a total of P3.1 billion in the first week of the new year to finance various pro-poor programs on education, housing, food, health and public works.

The allocation will be drawn from the strategic P35 billion spending program to pump prime the economy and buttress her administration’s efforts to curve poverty, hunger and unemployment.

On Jan. 2, her first working day of the year, the President earmarked P35 billion to "pump prime the economy and bring the dividends of growth close to the masses."

The P35 billion allocation will finance education, public works, housing and health and food programs.

Ordered released from the P35 billion fund was P500 million for the construction of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) that will cut travel and transport expenses of farmers in bringing their crops to trade centers.

The President also ordered the release of P100 million for the completion of the Dumalandan bridge in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

For education, she instructed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P500 million to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the government’s "Food for School Program."

The President also authorized DBM Secretary Romulo Neri to release P500 million for the expansion of the government’s health insurance subsidy program to ensure that more poor families are covered by PhilHealth.

The government is also set to release of P1 billion for housing of the families displaced by the Northrail and Southrail projects.

The President has earmarked P500 million for the operation of the Tindahang Pinoy (TP) chain of convenience stores. Last Thursday, she inaugurated the first TP project in Barangay Payatas Area A, Quezon City.

The allocation will support the government’s rice and noodles program to sustain the availability of affordable rice and noodles being sold to the poorest families through the TP convenience stores.

"The centerpiece of the President’s economic reform agenda is anchored on cutting down the incidence of poverty and hunger in the soonest possible time. For near term relief, we have launched the Tindahang Pinoy which offers rice and noodles, among other items, at the lowest prices possible within reach of the poor," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said.

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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye bewailed claims dismissing the strong showing of the peso against the US dollar and other currencies of the world as an affront to Filipinos working abroad.

"To dismiss the strong peso as no big deal is to demean the sacrifices and heroism of our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) who are tirelessly working beyond our shores to provide economic security to their loves ones," Bunye said in his weekly newspaper column, "The View From The Palace," which comes out tomorrow (Monday, Jan. 9).

That the peso has recovered from being the sick currency of Asia to the "darling currency" of the world is indeed a "big deal for Filipinos who dream of a better life, a dream that the administration shares with every Filipino family amidst the stiffest odds," Bunye said.

"National survival borne out of collective effort and synergy in the hardest of times is a big deal," he added.

Bunye said, however, that he shares the concerns raised by Sen. Manuel Roxas about the downside of a strong currency and surging bonds and stocks.

"We assure him that the payback on economic reforms is already here, in terms of the multi-billion pump priming program as well as the larger, strategic programs to fight hunger and poverty," he said.

The Malacaņang official pointed out that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is "combining immediate relief measures and long-gestating initiatives to jumpstart jobs, lower the cost of food, increase access to cheap quality medicine and health insurance, broaden education and housing opportunities and expanding infrastructure inroads to push productivity."

"Examples of these priority programs are the ‘rice and noodle’ stores which will make available these two basic commodities at affordable prices. In addition, a massive program to make available the four most needed medicines at half their 2001 prices is in the works," he said.

Bunye said another priority program of the President is to close the age-old school building-classroom gap in the elementary level. "In the secondary level, the thrust would be the issuance of ‘education vouchers’ which would enable excess public high school students to enroll in private high schools."

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